Volkswagen added a huge rear wing to its GTI Roadster concept for the Worthersee fan meet. Photo by Volkswagen

But with enthusiasm for the low-slung roadster running high among its design team, Volkswagen has decided to turn it into a full-size concept in homage to a long history of GTI models.

Created at Volkswagen's main design studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, the GTI Roadster is claimed to combine various styling themes being considered for future Volkswagen production models, with cues to be included in an upcoming racetrack version of the seventh-generation Golf.

The look is extreme, with the new concept flaunting a distinctive wedge-shaped silhouette and prominent ducting to cool the front-mounted engine, in addition to sizable wheelhouses, a shallow wraparound windshield and a giant rear wing.

As well as revealing design cues to be included on future Volkswagen models, the GTI Roadster headed for Worthersee showcases a new twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter VR6 direct-injection gasoline engine currently under development in Germany.

With a claimed 503 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque, the narrow angle VR6 engine drives all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The 20-inch wheels get 235/35 front and 275/30 rear tires, and they could house 15-inch front and 14-inch rear carbon-ceramic disc brakes.